The proposed Purple Line light rail project has united a diverse coalition of opponents ranging from homeowners and hikers to the members of Columbia Country Club who say its historic golf course will be harmed.
The rail project has supporters, including transit groups, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Sierra Club, all of whom argue that such a mass transit project connecting New Carrollton to Bethesda is essential for the region’s long-term growth.
But the opposition, armed with cash and connections, is preparing to dig in for the long haul and extend an already protracted battle.
A letter dated Aug. 4 — the day Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley endorsed light rail for the Purple Line — and signed by local leaders and civic groups urges the Federal Transit Administration to reject any proposal that would put mass transit along the Georgetown Branch of the Capital Crescent Trail.
“What is at stake is three miles of a beautiful, serene Trail, lined with 17 acres of mature tree cover,” the letter reads. “Hikers, bikers, joggers, senior citizens, dog walkers, families and children of all ages and abilities enjoy this multi-use trail.”
The plan calls for the trail to be rebuilt next to the light rail. The Maryland Transit Administration estimates that between 38,000 and 47,000 riders will take the line daily. It is projected to be finished as early as 2016.
“While we wholeheartedly support mass transit and believe an east-west line is a worthy project, we feel the region needs more than just a Purple Line,” said Patricia Burda, a town of Chevy Chase councilwoman. She prefers a rapid bus line, estimated to cost $1 billion less than light rail. The town, which borders the trail, has made numerous attempts to find how the state got its ridership estimates.
Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase is also fighting the project, as the proposed route travels through its golf course. Board member Geoff Gonella said the opposition is threefold: the destruction of the trail, safety concerns, and noise.
“It would clearly have an adverse effect on the golf course,” he said.
As for lawsuits, though, he said the club is “not actively pursuing it as a strategy.”
“That trail is not coming in here as long as I’m alive and as long as you’re alive, either,” said one golfer in a group of three seniors playing the course Wednesday morning.
Columbia has made no secret about pouring money into the battle. In March 2008, Columbia President J. Paul McNamara wrote to members asking them to pitch in to support a “grass-roots campaign” to fight the Purple Line.
“The Board of Governors believes that it is in the best interest of the club to fund this effort,” he wrote.
After O’Malley’s endorsement, other groups came out to support the proposal, arguing that light rail is essential to the area’s long-term goals.
Wayne Phyillaier, who runs the blog silverspringtrails.org says some trail users are looking forward to the trail’s extension to Silver Spring. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association supports the project.
“I’m hopeful the town of Chevy Chase will back off of this,” said Ben Ross, president of Action Committee for Transit. “Their view of the trail is that they like it the way it is primarily because it serves them.”
But Pam Browning, town of Chevy Chase resident and organizer of savethetrailpetition.org, thinks otherwise. The petition gathered more than 18,000 signatures from a large cross section of people, including 60 percent came from outside the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area.
“We’re not going to give up,” she said. “And we know that the Purple Line isn’t going to be built anytime soon.”
Examiner Staff Writer Kytja Weir and staff photographer Andrew Harnik contributed to this article.
